2025-05-29
Jack Dorsey's financial services company, Block Inc., has announced plans to integrate Bitcoin payments into its Square platform, aiming for a full rollout by 2026
This initiative was unveiled at the
Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, where attendees could experience the new
payment feature firsthand at the BTC Inc. merchandise store.
Key Features of the Bitcoin Payment
Integration
Lightning Network Utilization
Square will leverage the Lightning
Network, Bitcoin’s layer-2 scaling solution, to enable near-instantaneous and
low-cost transactions through existing Square hardware.
Merchant Flexibility
Merchants will
have the option to either retain the received Bitcoin or automatically convert
it into fiat currency in real-time, providing flexibility in managing their
funds.
Phased Rollout
The rollout is
anticipated to begin in the second half of 2025, with the goal of reaching all
eligible Square sellers by 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
Building Upon Existing Bitcoin Services
This new feature expands on Square's
existing Bitcoin Conversions offering, introduced in 2024, which allows
merchants to automatically convert a portion of their daily sales into Bitcoin
. By enabling direct Bitcoin payments, Block aims to make Bitcoin more
accessible and usable in everyday transactions.
In addition to payment integration,
Block is enhancing its Bitcoin ecosystem through products like Bitkey, a
self-custody Bitcoin wallet launched in late 2023.
Starting this month, Bitkey will
introduce new privacy and security features designed to make self-custody more
accessible without traditional seed phrases.
Bitcoin payment by Block signifies a step
toward mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency in retail transactions.
It confirms Jack Dorsey's vision of
promoting economic empowerment through decentralized financial systems.
